In Jesus day, the Pharisees were notorious for adding to God’s law while refusing to obey it themselves. I remember hearing that they were so concerned about following the rules of not working on the Sabbath that they came up with rules about how far they could walk on that day. Because some of them wanted to travel farther, they ended up implementing a rule that said they had to stay within a certain distance of the dirt of their home. In order to get around that rule, some of them would then carry a bag a dirt with them and then drop that dirt on the ground allowing them to increase their distance of travel.
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The bag of dirt story shows us how easy it is for man to think that he can ignore God as long as he working hard to do something to please God. That is not how the Christian life is to be lived. Jesus said, "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." (Matthew 11:29-30 NKJV)
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Even though Christ’s burden is light, He still tells us to take His yoke. In other words, God’s expectations are much easier to bear than man’s are, but God does have expectations for us. Consider Colossians 3:5-10 NKJV, “Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them. But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,.”
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Though Christ’s burden is easy, it still must be carried. In other words we need to be concerned about living for God’s glory and sometimes that can be a challenge. The end of the above passage (verse 10 of Colossians 3) tells us to put on the new man. In other words, once we are Christians we should be different than we were before. We should be changing to be more like Christ. The reality is that even as faithful Christians we sometimes struggle to live like we are supposed to live. It is sobering to realize that the letter that says not to lie anymore was addressed to the faithful Christians in Colosse (Colossians 1:2).
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So how is a faithful Christian to live the Christian life without having it become a heavy burden? Part of the answer is in verse 10 of Colossians 3. Notice it says to be renewed in knowledge according to the image of Jesus Christ our creator. (See Colossians 1:16). We are renewed in knowledge as we study God’s word. We are renewed in knowledge as we pray. We are renewed in knowledge as we think about God’s word. There is however a very important way that we are renewed in knowledge that is found right in the book of Colossians. “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” (Colossians 3:16 NKJV)
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Christians are renewed in knowledge as they come together and hear the teaching and warning of God’s word and as they sing songs that teach Biblical truth. This is one of the reasons why we should go to church. Currently there are no churches meeting regularly on Sunday mornings in Worthing, SD. We hope to soon start a church here in Worthing, so that Christians have a place to go so they can be taught and encouraged to follow Jesus Christ and to take on his yoke in a way that is not overwhelming. For more information please visit www.southtownchurch.com.
Friday, August 22, 2014
Friday, August 8, 2014
Legalism and Lawlessness
We have been picking green beans- actually they are purple beans this year. My wife decided to plant a variety that that is purple instead of green. I like them because they are easier to see when we pick the reward of our labors.
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I have learned that some rewards are given for hard work and other rewards are given for just showing up. For example, the reward of our purple green beans comes from the hard work of gardening. On the other hand, our little boys often get the reward of Gummy Bears for simply showing up at Grandma’s house.
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Whether the reward was earned or just given because “Grandma loves you,” imagine how you would feel if someone tried to keep you from getting a reward that was meant for you.
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In the book of Colossians, we read of a wonderful reward that is given to Christians. That reward is the realization that we are complete in Christ. Colossians 2:10 says, “and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.” (NKJV). Because we as believers are complete in Christ, we are no longer under the Old Testament law. “Having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.” (Colossians 2:14 NKJV)
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Sadly some were trying to deprive the Christian Colossians of their reward of salvation and completeness in Christ. They were distracting them from Christ by putting their focus on angels instead. Furthermore, they were not only trying to make them think that they needed to obey the Old Testament ordinances, but they were also adding other man made ordinances as well. Consider vs. 16, “So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths,” (NKJV) The scripture is even more blunt in vs. 20-22, “Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations-- ‘Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,’ which all concern things which perish with the using--according to the commandments and doctrines of men?” (NKJV)
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If we continue to read into chapter 3 of Colossians, we find that God does have expectations for Christians. “Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.” (Colossians 3:5 NKJV) Further we read, “But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds,” (Colossians 3:8-9 NKJV)
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I fear that the reward of the faithful Christian life is often robbed in a couple of ways. The first way is to put a heavy yoke upon Christ’s followers that he never intended for them to carry. This yoke is added by telling people that they have to do things that God does not require of them. Adding the earthly requirements of man as if they had come from God is a dangerous form of worldliness. (see Colossians 2:20-22 above). This worldly distortion of Biblical doctrine is often referred to as legalism.
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As damaging as legalism is, chapter 3 of Colossians shows us that lawlessness can be just as damaging. The Christian must study the Bible to understand what God expects and to know the difference between man’s demands and God’s. Without such diligent study, the believer is left to the whim of teachers who may either heap unneeded rules upon the backs of their followers, or encourage them to do things that are clearly forbidden in scripture.
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Because Christians must sort out the difference between legalism and lawlessness, it is important for them to study God’s word, but it is also important for them to find a church that preaches through the scripture verse by verse and explains what God wrote and why.
-
I have learned that some rewards are given for hard work and other rewards are given for just showing up. For example, the reward of our purple green beans comes from the hard work of gardening. On the other hand, our little boys often get the reward of Gummy Bears for simply showing up at Grandma’s house.
-
Whether the reward was earned or just given because “Grandma loves you,” imagine how you would feel if someone tried to keep you from getting a reward that was meant for you.
-
In the book of Colossians, we read of a wonderful reward that is given to Christians. That reward is the realization that we are complete in Christ. Colossians 2:10 says, “and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.” (NKJV). Because we as believers are complete in Christ, we are no longer under the Old Testament law. “Having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.” (Colossians 2:14 NKJV)
-
Sadly some were trying to deprive the Christian Colossians of their reward of salvation and completeness in Christ. They were distracting them from Christ by putting their focus on angels instead. Furthermore, they were not only trying to make them think that they needed to obey the Old Testament ordinances, but they were also adding other man made ordinances as well. Consider vs. 16, “So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths,” (NKJV) The scripture is even more blunt in vs. 20-22, “Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations-- ‘Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,’ which all concern things which perish with the using--according to the commandments and doctrines of men?” (NKJV)
-
If we continue to read into chapter 3 of Colossians, we find that God does have expectations for Christians. “Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.” (Colossians 3:5 NKJV) Further we read, “But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds,” (Colossians 3:8-9 NKJV)
-
I fear that the reward of the faithful Christian life is often robbed in a couple of ways. The first way is to put a heavy yoke upon Christ’s followers that he never intended for them to carry. This yoke is added by telling people that they have to do things that God does not require of them. Adding the earthly requirements of man as if they had come from God is a dangerous form of worldliness. (see Colossians 2:20-22 above). This worldly distortion of Biblical doctrine is often referred to as legalism.
-
As damaging as legalism is, chapter 3 of Colossians shows us that lawlessness can be just as damaging. The Christian must study the Bible to understand what God expects and to know the difference between man’s demands and God’s. Without such diligent study, the believer is left to the whim of teachers who may either heap unneeded rules upon the backs of their followers, or encourage them to do things that are clearly forbidden in scripture.
-
Because Christians must sort out the difference between legalism and lawlessness, it is important for them to study God’s word, but it is also important for them to find a church that preaches through the scripture verse by verse and explains what God wrote and why.
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